LANCASTER, Pa.- The Franklin & Marshall rowing team returns from the summer break with a three-weekend fall schedule that kicks off with Sunday's Occoquan Chase.

Spring 2026 Quick Recap

The men's Varsity 8+ made historic strides in 2026, as the side earned a spot in the IRCA/IRA Varsity 8+ Coaches Poll for DIII for the first time, peaking at #14 in week one ahead of maintaining #15 for the rest of the season. The spring saw several strong finishes, including a Grand Final appearance in the Division II/III Varsity 8+ and Varsity 4+ categories at the Knecht Cup. The Varsity 8+ crew then won at the Upper Schuylkill Challenge, claiming Mid-Atlantic Rowing Conference (MARC) Crew of the Week honors. They then won their event at the Gifford Pinchot Sprints. The team earned ninth place at the MARC Championship, totaling 35 points which was the most since the 2019 championship.

The women's rowing four-event runup to the MARC Championship was highlighted by winning gold in the Varsity 8+ and Novice 4+ events at the Gifford Pinchot Sprints. The women's team's season culminated in a seventh-place finish at the 2026 MARC Championship, highlighted by a Petite Final victory in the Varsity 8+. With 22 points in the championship, it was the most the program earned since 2019. 


Fall 2026 Schedule

Sunday, October 11 — Occoquan Chase (Fairfax Station, Va.)
Varsity Teams Only

Saturday, October 17 — Washington College (Chestertown, Md.)
Varsity Teams and Novices

Sunday, October 18 — Head of the Charles Regatta (Boston, Mass.)
Men's Varsity Four Only (Bid Earned into Regatta)

Saturday, October 24 — Head of the Schuylkill Regatta | Philadelphia, Pa.
Full Team

2026-27 Team Captains

Men's Team Captains:
Peter Kutscher - Junior
Max Taxter - Junior (All-MARC Second Team in 2025)

Women's Team Captains:
Maria Darrup - Senior (All-MARC First Team in 2025 & All-Novice Team in 2024)
Audrey Zawoiski - Junior (All-MARC Second Team in 2026 & All-Novice Team in 2025)

Other Returning Varsity Rowers 
Men's Team:
Gordon Clifford - Senior
Max Goldman - Senior
Jacob Ripperger - Junior
Saul Schoenholtz - Junior (MARC All-Novice Team in 2025)
Harris Zhang - Junior
Kunaal Chatterjee - Sophomore (MARC All-Novice Team in 2026)
Kanishk Pal - Sophomore
Ziyan Tang - Sophomore

Women's Team:
Macy Bush - Senior
Savanna Maness - Senior
Sarah Blum - Junior
Lucy Connolly - Junior
Elena Jenkins - Junior
Autumn Lingle - Junior
Louise Truong - Junior
Claire Axelrod - Sophomore
Maya Beda - Sophomore
Brigitte Chen - Sophomore 
Ruth Donohue - Sophomore
Elizabeth Ripperger - Sophomore
Kate Smith - Sophomore (MARC All-Novice Team in 2026)
Araya Vastani - Sophomore
Yvette Wang - Sophomore

New Varsity Rowers 

Women's Team:
Charlotte Goldman - First-Year
Stella Heng - First-Year 
Vivian MacNeill - Sophomore (Prev. La Salle)

2026-27 Novice Rowers

Men's Team:
Zeke Dworak-Fisher 
Henry Hall 
Huzaifa Khalid
Zun Saeed
Ali Waheed
Rongyu Zheng

Women's Team:
Claire Burdett
Julia Kirner
Kai La
Lehua Matsuoka
Fadila Nassir
Carolyn Quill
Sunny Sun
Aurelia Tang
PJ Udy

Fall Coaching Staff

While Timothy Nesselrodt will join the F&M rowing program as head coach this December, the Diplomats will be led this fall by Moemen Ibrahim '26 and Nathan Knauss.

Ibrahim returns to the F&M following a four-year stint that culminated in captaining the side in the senior season and guiding the Diplomats to a national ranking in the IRCA/IRA varsity 8+ poll for Division III. He was a three-time IRCA and MARC Scholar-Athlete. Ibrahim graduated from Franklin & Marshall with a double major in computer science and business, organizations & society and currently works as an Associate IT Solutions Developer at Fulton Bank.

Knauss began his tenure with the Diplomats last season as a volunteer assistant coach ahead of a step up as an assistant coach in 2026-27.